Rouhani: Iran expanding economic ties with Europe

Iran President Hassan Rouhani says a new atmosphere has been created in the Islamic Republic to expand bilateral economic cooperation with European countries, PressTV reported.

"Our economic relations with many European countries have started after the preliminary [nuclear] agreement and these ties are developing in a completely new form," Rouhani said in a meeting with visiting Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt in Tehran on Tuesday.

He added that Iran and Europe have enjoyed "very strong and deep-rooted" relations, noting that representatives of more than 100 European firms have traveled to Iran in recent weeks and are negotiating with Iranian sides.

"On this basis, we can expand our economic relations with Sweden and the two countries' private sectors can become active in all fields," the Iranian president stated.

He reaffirmed Iran's commitment to regulations of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and said all nuclear activities of the Islamic Republic have been carried out under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Rouhani pointed to nuclear deal clinched between Iran and the six major world powers in Geneva last November, saying, "We are completely ready to hold negotiations at the final stage and reach an agreement and if the other side is serious and honest, there is a possibility to reach the agreement in a short time."

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - Russia, China, France, Britain and the US - plus Germany sealed an interim deal in Geneva on November 24, 2013, to pave the way for the full resolution of the West's decade-old dispute with Iran over the country's nuclear energy program. The deal came into force on January 20.

The Swedish foreign minister, for his part, said Tehran and Stockholm have good economic relations, slammed destructive sanctions against Iran, and called for constructive diplomacy with Tehran.